WEBVTT 00:00:03.679 --> 00:00:06.799 Hey all, Pastor John here. Thanks for tuning 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.980 in to the weekly sermon podcast. We pray this 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:12.740 message encourages you, strengthens your faith, 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:15.359 and helps you to take your next step with Jesus. 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:18.359 If this content blesses you and you'd like to 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:20.500 be a part of helping us continue to bring the 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:22.960 gospel to life, we'd love for you to consider 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:26.079 supporting the ministry of village. Your generosity 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:28.579 makes it possible for us to keep creating and 00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:31.670 sharing resources like this podcast. You can 00:00:31.670 --> 00:00:35.770 give safely and easily by visiting sacvillage 00:00:35.770 --> 00:00:39.390 .org slash give, or by heading to our website 00:00:39.390 --> 00:00:43.350 at sacvillage .org. Thanks again for listening. 00:00:43.929 --> 00:00:54.469 Now let's dive into this week's message. Well, 00:00:54.609 --> 00:00:58.000 good morning. Last week we were in the. breaking 00:00:58.000 --> 00:00:59.960 in series and we're kind of coming to the end 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:02.840 of it. This is the second to last week in the 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:06.780 breaking in series. And last week, Jesus in Matthew 00:01:06.780 --> 00:01:08.700 nine gave us kind of this picture and we talked 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:11.579 about it extensively and it'll be a theme that 00:01:11.579 --> 00:01:14.579 you'll see show up today as well. And that picture 00:01:14.579 --> 00:01:17.439 that Jesus gave is this idea of the new wine 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:20.819 and the old wine skins or the new wine and the 00:01:20.819 --> 00:01:24.900 old wine skins. And he said, you can't pour what's 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:30.209 new. into what's old because it will burst. The 00:01:30.209 --> 00:01:32.969 older wine skins would get brittle and hard, 00:01:33.010 --> 00:01:35.049 and if you poured new wine into it and you capped 00:01:35.049 --> 00:01:36.750 it off, what would happen? Well, that new wine 00:01:36.750 --> 00:01:39.049 would ferment, create gases, release it, and 00:01:39.049 --> 00:01:42.709 pretty soon, the old wine skin would burst. And 00:01:42.709 --> 00:01:46.329 Jesus used this as a metaphor as well as a heads 00:01:46.329 --> 00:01:49.530 up that when the kingdom of God starts breaking 00:01:49.530 --> 00:01:53.379 in, that it doesn't do so politely. It doesn't 00:01:53.379 --> 00:01:56.219 do, and it doesn't politely fit into our old 00:01:56.219 --> 00:01:59.939 containers or systems, but that it blows them 00:01:59.939 --> 00:02:03.400 apart. It opens them wide up. And that's exactly 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:06.359 what we see in that very next passage that we're 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:10.000 moving into this morning. In fact, in Matthew 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:12.830 nine, Matthew doesn't change subjects here. It's 00:02:12.830 --> 00:02:15.030 not like we moved on from new wine and now we're 00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:17.509 into a new section. We're in the same subject 00:02:17.509 --> 00:02:19.469 and what he's going to do, he's actually gonna 00:02:19.469 --> 00:02:23.789 show us what this looks like in real time. Jesus 00:02:23.789 --> 00:02:26.530 said that the kingdom is like new wine and now 00:02:26.530 --> 00:02:28.849 we get to watch what it looks like as it's poured 00:02:28.849 --> 00:02:32.050 out. And when the new wine is poured out, well, 00:02:32.110 --> 00:02:34.169 what does it do? It brings life to the dead. 00:02:35.259 --> 00:02:38.340 healing to the broken, the sight to the blind, 00:02:38.659 --> 00:02:42.280 and freedom to those held in captivity. And it's 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:45.039 as if Matthew is saying, you wanna see what New 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:48.539 Wine does? Well, watch this. And this next little 00:02:48.539 --> 00:02:50.680 bit, you'll see in chapter nine, beginning of 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:54.340 verse 18, that it's rapid fire. It's like Jesus 00:02:54.340 --> 00:02:56.060 is going here, and then this happens, and then 00:02:56.060 --> 00:02:57.740 boom, and then as soon as that was done, something 00:02:57.740 --> 00:03:00.219 else happened. And again, this is a part of Matthew's 00:03:00.219 --> 00:03:02.879 way of writing the scripture. to show us what 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:05.180 he just said, what Jesus just said about new 00:03:05.180 --> 00:03:10.599 wine, he's now gonna show us. The old system 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:14.199 could define who was clean and unclean, but it 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:17.460 couldn't make anybody whole. The old system could 00:03:17.460 --> 00:03:20.520 label what was dead, but it couldn't raise the 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:25.060 dead. And Jesus isn't simply in addition to the 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:31.719 old way, he's a complete replacement. came through 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:33.680 Moses, listen to what some of the scriptures 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:36.000 say, the law came through Moses, the grace and 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:39.319 truth came through Jesus Christ. The blood of 00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:42.219 bulls and goats could never take away sins, but 00:03:42.219 --> 00:03:45.099 Christ offered one sacrifice for all and sat 00:03:45.099 --> 00:03:49.099 down at the right hand of the father. The old 00:03:49.099 --> 00:03:52.199 covenant was written on stone, but the new covenant 00:03:52.199 --> 00:03:58.139 is written on our hearts. The letter kills. but 00:03:58.139 --> 00:04:03.639 the spirit of God gives life. The law was only 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:06.460 a shadow of the good things to come, not the 00:04:06.460 --> 00:04:10.120 reality itself. And now in Christ, we're not 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:12.719 living under a ministry of condemnation, but 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:15.580 instead a ministry of righteousness that overflows 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:20.879 with glory. Because if anyone is in Christ, he 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:25.779 is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:31.959 the new has come. The kingdom Jesus brings is 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:36.339 in a patch for our brokenness. It's a whole new 00:04:36.339 --> 00:04:40.180 garment. And Christ's miracles, as we'll see 00:04:40.180 --> 00:04:43.160 in chapter nine, are not mere acts of power. 00:04:43.620 --> 00:04:47.699 Not some sort of a razzle -dazzle show. They 00:04:47.699 --> 00:04:50.439 are acts of restoration. They are signs that 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:54.220 the broken order of creation is being made new. 00:04:55.399 --> 00:04:56.939 That's what we're gonna kinda explore today. 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:00.860 The kingdom breaks in. and it replaces what's 00:05:00.860 --> 00:05:05.360 broken. The kingdom breaks in. It doesn't just 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:08.620 repair. It brings new life where the old life 00:05:08.620 --> 00:05:13.420 has run dry. Right after Jesus says, you can't 00:05:13.420 --> 00:05:16.439 pour new wine into old wine skins. Matthew shows 00:05:16.439 --> 00:05:18.800 us what happens when the new wine starts to flow 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:21.379 and it doesn't fit into those old categories. 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:24.509 It bursts through them. And so let's look at 00:05:24.509 --> 00:05:27.250 Matthew chapter nine, verse 18 through 34. If 00:05:27.250 --> 00:05:28.589 you have your Bibles, you can turn there, Matthew 00:05:28.589 --> 00:05:31.889 nine, 18 through 34. It'll also be up here on 00:05:31.889 --> 00:05:38.110 the screen. As he, that's Jesus, was telling 00:05:38.110 --> 00:05:40.709 them these things, suddenly one of the leaders 00:05:40.709 --> 00:05:43.829 came and knelt down before him saying, my daughter 00:05:43.829 --> 00:05:48.430 has just died, but come and lay your hand on 00:05:48.430 --> 00:05:52.850 her and she will live. And so Jesus and his disciples 00:05:52.850 --> 00:05:57.889 got up and followed him. Just then, a woman who 00:05:57.889 --> 00:06:00.329 had suffered from bleeding for 12 years approached 00:06:00.329 --> 00:06:02.209 from behind and touched the end of his robe, 00:06:02.410 --> 00:06:05.310 for she had said to herself, if I can just touch 00:06:05.310 --> 00:06:10.329 his robe, I'll be made well. Jesus turned around 00:06:10.329 --> 00:06:12.970 and saw her and said, have courage, daughter. 00:06:13.810 --> 00:06:17.750 Your faith has saved you. And the woman was made 00:06:17.750 --> 00:06:22.199 well from that moment. When Jesus came to the 00:06:22.199 --> 00:06:25.019 leaders house, he saw the flu players and a crowd 00:06:25.019 --> 00:06:28.279 of lament the crowd lamenting loudly Leave he 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:30.639 said to them because the girl is not dead but 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:34.420 asleep and they laughed at him But after the 00:06:34.420 --> 00:06:36.819 crowds had been put outside he went in and took 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:41.319 her hand and the girl got up And then news of 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:43.720 this spread throughout the whole area. As Jesus 00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:46.319 went on from there, two blind men followed him, 00:06:46.459 --> 00:06:49.339 calling out, have mercy on us, son of David. 00:06:49.540 --> 00:06:51.560 And when he entered the house, the blind men 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:54.439 approached him, and Jesus said to them, do you 00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:57.959 believe that I can do this? And they said to 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:01.319 him, yes, Lord. And then he touched their eyes, 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:04.660 saying, let it be done for you according to your 00:07:04.660 --> 00:07:08.410 faith. And their eyes. were open and then Jesus 00:07:08.410 --> 00:07:11.269 warned them sternly be sure that no one finds 00:07:11.269 --> 00:07:13.649 out but they went out and spread the news about 00:07:13.649 --> 00:07:17.689 him throughout the whole area just then just 00:07:17.689 --> 00:07:20.089 as they're going out a demon possessed man who 00:07:20.089 --> 00:07:22.370 was unable to speak was brought to him and when 00:07:22.370 --> 00:07:24.910 the demon had been driven out the man who had 00:07:24.910 --> 00:07:27.990 been mute spoke and the crowds were amazing nothing 00:07:27.990 --> 00:07:32.230 like this has ever been seen in Israel but the 00:07:32.230 --> 00:07:36.579 Pharisees said he drives out demons by the ruler 00:07:36.579 --> 00:07:43.939 of demons. This is God's word. We got three points 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:45.360 today, and if you're taking notes, the first 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:47.899 point I'll have you write down is the new kingdom 00:07:47.899 --> 00:07:53.100 brings life where there was death. No sooner 00:07:53.100 --> 00:07:56.139 does Jesus finish talking about new wine than 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:58.579 a desperate father pushes through the crowd toward 00:07:58.579 --> 00:08:02.160 him. And his father is a synagogue ruler. He's 00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:05.009 respected, he's powerful. Probably the kind of 00:08:05.009 --> 00:08:07.149 guy who would have been very uncomfortable seeing 00:08:07.149 --> 00:08:09.350 Jesus sit around a table with a tax collector. 00:08:10.610 --> 00:08:14.410 But now his little girl is gone. Now his little 00:08:14.410 --> 00:08:17.050 girl has died and death has a way of humbling 00:08:17.050 --> 00:08:21.329 even the proudest heart. And he kneels before 00:08:21.329 --> 00:08:23.889 Jesus and he says, my daughter has just died 00:08:23.889 --> 00:08:27.629 but come and lay your hand on her and she will 00:08:27.629 --> 00:08:31.740 live. And that's not religion talking, that's 00:08:31.740 --> 00:08:35.000 not a self -righteous religious talk or speak 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:38.259 there, is it? That's a desperate man who's come 00:08:38.259 --> 00:08:40.200 to the end of himself, not looking for a patch 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:42.419 on his life, but willing to take his whole life 00:08:42.419 --> 00:08:44.519 and throw it at the feet of Jesus and say, I 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:46.159 believe you're the only one who can do something 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:49.259 in this, I'm out of options, I can't fix this. 00:08:51.379 --> 00:08:55.559 The old wineskin of status and ritual and control, 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:59.129 it can't hold this kind of desperation. that 00:08:59.129 --> 00:09:03.250 this father is experiencing. The system of walking 00:09:03.250 --> 00:09:06.110 through this or that ritual or tradition is not 00:09:06.110 --> 00:09:11.110 gonna cut it today. My little girl is gone. This 00:09:11.110 --> 00:09:17.970 new wine, this is raw and risky trust. And so 00:09:17.970 --> 00:09:20.870 Jesus and his disciples begin to head toward 00:09:20.870 --> 00:09:23.590 the little girl and on their way they're interrupted 00:09:23.590 --> 00:09:27.080 with another story. A woman who's been bleeding 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:30.460 for 12 years, so unclean, isolated, exhausted 00:09:30.460 --> 00:09:33.259 from trying every solution the old system had 00:09:33.259 --> 00:09:37.700 to offer. Under the law, she couldn't even be 00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:43.379 in the crowd for fear that being unclean, because 00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:46.320 of this bleeding condition, it would touch others 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:51.990 and this uncleanness would spread. But faith 00:09:51.990 --> 00:09:54.750 made her do what religion could never do. She 00:09:54.750 --> 00:09:59.230 reached out. She says to herself, if I could 00:09:59.230 --> 00:10:02.429 just touch the edge of his cloak, I'll be healed. 00:10:03.570 --> 00:10:06.970 And Jesus stops. And when she does it, what does 00:10:06.970 --> 00:10:12.330 he do? Does he rebuke her? No, he calls her what? 00:10:13.570 --> 00:10:16.950 Daughter. And this is the only time in the gospels 00:10:16.950 --> 00:10:20.519 he uses that word for anyone. The only time in 00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:24.600 the gospels, the word daughter is used. Not woman, 00:10:25.299 --> 00:10:31.600 not sister, daughter. A covenant, family word. 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:36.580 A word that pulls her out of 12 years of isolation 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:40.279 and places her inside of the household of God. 00:10:41.379 --> 00:10:43.340 And the priests, they couldn't give her that. 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:47.190 The sacrifices couldn't give her a lasting. place. 00:10:47.330 --> 00:10:49.649 The law couldn't give that to her, but Jesus 00:10:49.649 --> 00:10:52.330 can because he's not patching up the old covenant. 00:10:52.450 --> 00:10:57.769 He's ushering in the new. And when he calls her 00:10:57.769 --> 00:11:00.029 daughter, he's doing more than just healing her 00:11:00.029 --> 00:11:03.330 body. He's giving her a new identity. He's saying 00:11:03.330 --> 00:11:07.610 to her, you belong to me. Your shame doesn't 00:11:07.610 --> 00:11:11.350 name you anymore. Your suffering doesn't define 00:11:11.350 --> 00:11:16.809 you. You are family. What should have made him 00:11:16.809 --> 00:11:19.490 unclean by her her touching him? What should 00:11:19.490 --> 00:11:23.149 have made him unclean instead? Reverses goes 00:11:23.149 --> 00:11:26.009 the other way other direction and his cleanness 00:11:26.009 --> 00:11:28.730 his holiness his righteousness is instead passed 00:11:28.730 --> 00:11:35.250 to her The old wineskin said you have to stay 00:11:35.250 --> 00:11:41.090 away from others And the new one says come come 00:11:41.090 --> 00:11:45.970 home The kingdom of The kingdom of God doesn't 00:11:45.970 --> 00:11:51.129 just heal bodies, it restores identities. He 00:11:51.129 --> 00:11:54.629 didn't just stop the bleeding, he ended 12 years 00:11:54.629 --> 00:12:04.250 of shame. And so I ask you, where has shame told 00:12:04.250 --> 00:12:07.210 you to stay hidden when Jesus is calling you 00:12:07.210 --> 00:12:12.269 out of the crowd? What wound have you carried 00:12:12.269 --> 00:12:14.970 for so long that you stopped believing it can 00:12:14.970 --> 00:12:20.429 ever be healed? Are you reaching out in faith 00:12:20.429 --> 00:12:24.710 or are you staying back in fear because you believe 00:12:24.710 --> 00:12:32.610 you're not worthy? By the time Jesus reaches 00:12:32.610 --> 00:12:37.269 the rulers house He finds a scene there the mourners 00:12:37.269 --> 00:12:42.000 have already arrived He encountered this woman, 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:44.620 called her daughter, healed her body, and from 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:47.600 that moment on, she was clean, free of not only 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:50.620 the issue, but free of the shame that's associated 00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:57.120 with it, clean and made holy. And now, at the 00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:01.519 ruler's house, the old system, when someone died, 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:03.720 well you had to get the body out of there pretty 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:07.019 quickly because it would decompose. And so you 00:13:07.019 --> 00:13:10.679 get on the horn and you call up the the flautists 00:13:10.679 --> 00:13:13.220 in the neighborhood and you get them on down, 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:17.379 get the flutes playing and get, start lamenting 00:13:17.379 --> 00:13:22.539 because we gotta, we gotta move this along. The 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:25.539 old system knew what to do with death. It hired 00:13:25.539 --> 00:13:32.019 flute players. But Jesus walks in and says, the 00:13:32.019 --> 00:13:37.200 girl isn't dead. She's sleeping. And what do 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:40.820 they do? They laugh at her. I laugh at him. They 00:13:40.820 --> 00:13:43.240 ridicule him because when the kingdom is breaking 00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:45.559 in, and you will find this in your life, as the 00:13:45.559 --> 00:13:47.960 kingdom breaks into your life, it always looks 00:13:47.960 --> 00:13:51.539 foolish to those who are comfortable with funerals. 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:55.940 It looks foolish to those who have gotten comfortable 00:13:55.940 --> 00:13:59.279 hanging out with dead people. And when they start 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:02.600 to see life, it doesn't always translate into 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:09.259 joy. And then he takes her hands. He takes her 00:14:09.259 --> 00:14:13.019 hand. Was she dead? She was dead. But Jesus knew 00:14:13.019 --> 00:14:15.519 what was about to happen. He takes her hand. 00:14:16.059 --> 00:14:21.200 Jesus, the rabbi, touches the hand of a dead 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:25.080 young girl. Again, not according to the law. 00:14:25.779 --> 00:14:27.779 He would become unclean. He would have to go 00:14:27.779 --> 00:14:30.460 through a set of rituals to find himself clean 00:14:30.460 --> 00:14:36.120 again by touching the young girl. But he touches 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:41.409 her. and life returns. What couldn't be touched 00:14:41.409 --> 00:14:44.809 without becoming unclean, Jesus makes clean with 00:14:44.809 --> 00:14:50.909 a touch. And that's what new wine does, it raises 00:14:50.909 --> 00:14:55.230 what's dead, it restores what's defiled, it replaces 00:14:55.230 --> 00:15:01.090 despair with joy. The old covenant in some ways 00:15:01.090 --> 00:15:03.629 was like a heart monitor. It could tell you that 00:15:03.629 --> 00:15:06.509 your heart stopped or that you had a heart problem. 00:15:06.809 --> 00:15:08.870 It could tell you that and that's good information, 00:15:08.950 --> 00:15:11.269 right? It's good to know what's going on with 00:15:11.269 --> 00:15:12.850 your heart, but it couldn't do anything about 00:15:12.850 --> 00:15:17.169 your hearts. In the new covenant, Jesus, he's 00:15:17.169 --> 00:15:22.070 like a defibrillator, right? Or he's like a heart 00:15:22.070 --> 00:15:24.210 surgeon who can come in and just do a heart transplant. 00:15:24.210 --> 00:15:26.909 I'll just give you a new heart altogether. Let's 00:15:26.909 --> 00:15:29.169 just take out this bad guy and let's put a new 00:15:29.169 --> 00:15:31.409 guy in there and get this thing going again. 00:15:33.029 --> 00:15:35.840 The old covenant knew how to manage death. the 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:39.899 new covenant brings resurrection life. Everywhere 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:42.259 Jesus goes, things that were dead start breathing 00:15:42.259 --> 00:15:45.299 again, but Matthew isn't done here. The new wine 00:15:45.299 --> 00:15:48.200 doesn't just bring life to what is dying. It 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:50.299 opens eyes that can't see. If you're taking notes, 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:53.340 number two, the kingdom opens eyes that couldn't 00:15:53.340 --> 00:15:58.620 see. So as Jesus leaves the ruler's house, two 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:01.720 blind men start following him, crying out, have 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:05.179 mercy on us, son of David. Have mercy on us, 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:08.480 son of David. Sorry, I got distracted for a second. 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:11.179 Are you guys comfortable in here, temperature 00:16:11.179 --> 00:16:17.960 -wise? I'm burning up. I hope you guys are happy. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:25.480 I'm about to get the defibrillator up here quickly. 00:16:25.700 --> 00:16:28.879 I'm about to faint, locking my knees. Sorry to 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:34.830 interrupt like that, but there we go. That's 00:16:34.830 --> 00:16:39.330 what it is, there it is. That's restart number 00:16:39.330 --> 00:16:41.809 two. The kingdom of God opened eyes that couldn't 00:16:41.809 --> 00:16:44.149 see. Well, we have these two blind men that as 00:16:44.149 --> 00:16:47.509 Jesus is leaving the house of the ruler, two 00:16:47.509 --> 00:16:49.029 blind men start following him and they're yelling 00:16:49.029 --> 00:16:54.350 out, have mercy on us, son of what? Son of David. 00:16:55.099 --> 00:16:58.559 And this title, Son of David, is loaded. It's 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:02.779 loaded with meaning. It's more than just a name 00:17:02.779 --> 00:17:05.200 for someone's family name. It's loaded with the 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:08.339 meaning of, it's a royal title, a messianic confession. 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:13.799 This is the Messiah King, Son of David. They're 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:15.799 not just asking for healing. They're actually 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:18.920 going around declaring that the wandering rabbi 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:24.200 is the long -awaited king. And you think about 00:17:24.200 --> 00:17:27.759 that, the men who can't see are the only ones 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:32.160 seeing Jesus clearly. The men who can't see with 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:34.799 their eyes are the ones who are seeing Jesus 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:38.839 clearly. Before Peter even makes his confession 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:41.920 about Jesus, two blind men make their confession. 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:48.680 Mercy on us, son of David. And the Pharisees 00:17:48.680 --> 00:17:51.240 and the scribes, well, they had sight, they had 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:55.119 education, they had access, they had power and 00:17:55.119 --> 00:18:00.819 control, but they had no vision. These men had 00:18:00.819 --> 00:18:04.259 none of that, but faith had given them eyes. 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:09.660 The kingdom of God doesn't come to those who 00:18:09.660 --> 00:18:14.240 think they already see. The kingdom of God is 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:16.880 only visible to those who admit their blindness. 00:18:19.360 --> 00:18:22.019 Jesus asked him a question. Do you believe that 00:18:22.019 --> 00:18:26.920 I am able to do this? He could have just healed 00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:32.779 them, but instead he draws out their faith because 00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:36.740 faith is not an accessory in the kingdom. It's 00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:39.700 not an add on. It's the way that people rightly 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:43.380 respond to Jesus, the right response to Jesus, 00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:45.380 the right response to an encounter with Jesus 00:18:45.380 --> 00:18:49.279 or an experience with Jesus is faith. And so 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:52.420 Jesus draws out even more and says, do you believe 00:18:52.420 --> 00:18:57.819 that I am able to do this? He wants them to understand 00:18:57.819 --> 00:19:01.960 that healing isn't mechanical or magical. Healing 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:07.599 is relational. Do you believe that I am able 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:11.960 to do this? And by asking, do you believe I am 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:14.920 able, he's helping them to see that the source 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:18.609 of their healing is not the act itself. But it's 00:19:18.609 --> 00:19:24.250 him. It's Jesus. And their faith doesn't earn 00:19:24.250 --> 00:19:27.150 them a miracle. That's not what Jesus is saying 00:19:27.150 --> 00:19:31.190 when he says, your faith has healed you. It doesn't 00:19:31.190 --> 00:19:33.349 earn them a miracle because they had faith. What 00:19:33.349 --> 00:19:35.589 it does is it connects them to the only one who 00:19:35.589 --> 00:19:39.089 can give it. Faith is the connection, the relational 00:19:39.089 --> 00:19:41.710 connection to Jesus, drawing to Jesus. Jesus 00:19:41.710 --> 00:19:44.210 is the one who can perform the miracle. He's 00:19:44.210 --> 00:19:50.019 the one who can change the circumstance. Faith 00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:53.019 is the new wine skin that can hold what God pours 00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:56.900 out. Not knowledge, not background, not prestige, 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:00.460 not credentials, not a hierarchy or control, 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:07.640 faith. Faith is the eye of the soul. It sees 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:09.900 what reason cannot because it trusts what Jesus 00:20:09.900 --> 00:20:14.440 has said. And instantly, what does the Bible 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:18.069 say? Well, Jesus asked him the question, Do you 00:20:18.069 --> 00:20:23.230 believe I am able? And they say yes, and their 00:20:23.230 --> 00:20:28.410 sight is restored. Instantly they see, and their 00:20:28.410 --> 00:20:31.690 first sight is what? The face of the one who 00:20:31.690 --> 00:20:36.109 gave them sight. And that's a picture of the 00:20:36.109 --> 00:20:39.069 gospel. When the light of Christ breaks in, we 00:20:39.069 --> 00:20:45.400 see him first and behold him. But Jesus gives 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:48.819 him a kind of strange command doesn't he? He 00:20:48.819 --> 00:20:53.519 says be sure no one finds out Now I don't know 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:55.099 about you, but how do you tell a couple of blind 00:20:55.099 --> 00:20:57.779 people who just received their sights? Don't 00:20:57.779 --> 00:21:02.180 say nothing about it, right? And it says he said 00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:05.240 it sternly so he I'm guessing Jesus meant it 00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:09.019 right like don't do it Don't you dare don't you 00:21:09.019 --> 00:21:13.559 dare go and tell someone? But you know what it 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:15.940 And it kind of reflects this pattern that's in 00:21:15.940 --> 00:21:19.660 the gospels. Jesus would often tell people not 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:22.579 to spread the news because of public excitement 00:21:22.579 --> 00:21:25.680 about his miracles and because that excitement 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:28.920 could easily create a wrong expectation about 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:32.220 what his mission was. It could prematurely jump 00:21:32.220 --> 00:21:36.420 the gun, get him killed earlier. Many in Israel 00:21:36.420 --> 00:21:39.259 were looking for a political messiah or a military 00:21:39.259 --> 00:21:41.500 leader to come in. Jesus didn't want the crowds 00:21:41.500 --> 00:21:47.410 to define his role. in their terms. By asking 00:21:47.410 --> 00:21:50.210 them to be quiet, he's kind of slowing down the 00:21:50.210 --> 00:21:52.990 misunderstanding and he keeps the focus on the 00:21:52.990 --> 00:21:55.750 message of the kingdom rather than the sensational 00:21:55.750 --> 00:22:01.630 nature of the miracles. But of course, like you 00:22:01.630 --> 00:22:07.130 and I, they could not keep silent. They go out 00:22:07.130 --> 00:22:09.549 and spread the news through the whole region. 00:22:11.390 --> 00:22:13.670 I firmly, you know, I get it. When your eyes 00:22:13.670 --> 00:22:15.450 have been opened, you're not gonna be quiet. 00:22:17.769 --> 00:22:22.730 The old wine skin said, see and then believe, 00:22:22.769 --> 00:22:26.589 but Jesus says believe and then you'll see. And 00:22:26.589 --> 00:22:29.289 so two blind men walk out seeing for the first 00:22:29.289 --> 00:22:32.049 time, but the story doesn't stop there. The kingdom 00:22:32.049 --> 00:22:34.849 keeps on breaking in and this time not to open 00:22:34.849 --> 00:22:37.349 eyes, but to open a mouth that has been silenced. 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:40.640 because where Jesus reigns, darkness has to let 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:45.859 go. The devil will not have the final word, Jesus 00:22:45.859 --> 00:22:48.000 will. And so if you're taking notes, the final 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:49.400 point I'll have you write down is number three, 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:54.480 the new kingdom sets captives free. Right after 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:56.960 the blind man walk, the blind man walk out with 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:00.019 open eyes, another man was brought in and this 00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:05.369 one can't speak. Mute, oppressed by demons. or 00:23:05.369 --> 00:23:09.269 depressed by a demon and held hostage by darkness. 00:23:11.109 --> 00:23:17.309 No words and no control. No way to ask for help. 00:23:19.450 --> 00:23:22.089 And I think that's important to know that even 00:23:22.089 --> 00:23:25.390 when you can't cry out, Jesus hears those silent 00:23:25.390 --> 00:23:30.299 cries. And so they bring the man to him, and 00:23:30.299 --> 00:23:33.359 without fanfare, it literally is demon possessed 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:35.519 man brought to him, he can't speak, and then 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:38.480 he left delivered. Again, Matthew's not giving 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:40.799 us a whole lot of details, he's just going bam, 00:23:40.819 --> 00:23:43.140 bam, bam, one right after the other, look what 00:23:43.140 --> 00:23:50.240 the kingdom is doing. The man begins to speak, 00:23:50.299 --> 00:23:53.400 and the first words are the sound of freedom. 00:23:55.380 --> 00:23:58.789 And the crowd says, Nothing like this has ever 00:23:58.789 --> 00:24:03.789 been seen in Israel. And I think that's an important 00:24:03.789 --> 00:24:06.730 line. They're not saying, oh, it's just a comment 00:24:06.730 --> 00:24:08.970 on the miracle. Wow, we've seen a lot of other 00:24:08.970 --> 00:24:10.430 miracles, but we've never seen a miracle quite 00:24:10.430 --> 00:24:12.890 like this one. It's not a comment on the miracle, 00:24:13.089 --> 00:24:16.049 it's a declaration that literally the old wineskin 00:24:16.049 --> 00:24:19.829 is breaking, it's cracking. All their system 00:24:19.829 --> 00:24:22.650 sacrifices, ceremonies could never produce this 00:24:22.650 --> 00:24:26.940 kind of power. This is the new wine of the kingdom 00:24:26.940 --> 00:24:32.819 of God breaking through. But not everyone celebrates. 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:37.339 The Pharisees can't deny the miracle. And so 00:24:37.339 --> 00:24:38.920 what do they do? They distort it and they say, 00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:42.859 oh, he must be driving out demons by the ruler 00:24:42.859 --> 00:24:46.500 of demons. And when they can't explain Jesus, 00:24:46.619 --> 00:24:53.079 they accuse him. Every time Jesus heals, forgives 00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:57.240 or frees. He reclaims territory from the enemy. 00:24:59.339 --> 00:25:01.240 And that's what happens here. Every healing, 00:25:01.400 --> 00:25:03.940 every deliverance, every act of mercy, it's the 00:25:03.940 --> 00:25:08.279 kingdom advancing one person at a time. Jesus 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:11.259 is reclaiming what the enemy had stolen. He's 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:13.819 restoring the voice that sin and shame tried 00:25:13.819 --> 00:25:16.559 to silence. And the crowds say, we've never seen 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:20.240 anything like this before. And of course they 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:23.059 have, because when the kingdom breaks in, it 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:25.359 doesn't just make your life better, it makes 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:34.220 it brand new. The old order could manage and 00:25:34.220 --> 00:25:37.400 contain, but Jesus brings liberation and freedom. 00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:43.059 And that's where this tension shows up, the people 00:25:43.059 --> 00:25:45.299 rejoicing, but the self -righteous religious 00:25:45.299 --> 00:25:50.240 spirit can't handle grace breaking in. They try 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:53.059 to stuff the new wine back into the old wine 00:25:53.059 --> 00:25:55.700 skins, play by the rules, get in line, but it 00:25:55.700 --> 00:25:58.099 won't fit because the kingdom of God isn't about 00:25:58.099 --> 00:26:00.740 control, it's about freedom. Where the spirit 00:26:00.740 --> 00:26:05.460 of the Lord is, there is freedom. If Christ has 00:26:05.460 --> 00:26:13.039 set you free, you are free indeed. And so as 00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:14.859 we kind of step back from all these stories, 00:26:14.900 --> 00:26:20.700 we really see one picture. Shame replaced by 00:26:20.700 --> 00:26:23.240 wholeness, death replaced by life, blindness 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:26.680 replaced by side, bondage replaced by freedom, 00:26:26.819 --> 00:26:28.640 and that's what happens when the king breaks 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:33.779 in. What we've seen is what happens when new 00:26:33.779 --> 00:26:37.099 wine that Jesus talked about begins to flow. 00:26:37.099 --> 00:26:40.539 It doesn't stay theoretical. It actually touches 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:43.420 real people. And when it touches them, everything 00:26:43.420 --> 00:26:46.500 changes. A dead girl lives. A bleeding woman 00:26:46.500 --> 00:26:50.539 is restored. A blind eye see and a silenced man 00:26:50.539 --> 00:26:53.940 speaks four stories, but really one message. 00:26:54.200 --> 00:26:58.519 The kingdom of God can't be contained. Let it 00:26:58.519 --> 00:27:01.690 break out. The old religious system could label 00:27:01.690 --> 00:27:04.589 people unclean or unworthy or untouchable, but 00:27:04.589 --> 00:27:09.829 the new kingdom restores them. Jesus didn't come 00:27:09.829 --> 00:27:13.289 to patch the old system. He came to replace it 00:27:13.289 --> 00:27:19.829 with himself. He came to make dead people live 00:27:19.829 --> 00:27:24.369 again. As John Stott once said, Christianity 00:27:24.369 --> 00:27:29.769 is a rescue religion. And that's what he's still 00:27:29.769 --> 00:27:36.390 doing. In a room like this, in hearts like yours, 00:27:37.950 --> 00:27:43.049 the kingdom is still breaking in. You might feel 00:27:43.049 --> 00:27:51.369 like the bleeding woman drained, ashamed, and 00:27:51.369 --> 00:27:56.380 out of options. You might feel like the father 00:27:56.380 --> 00:28:03.200 desperate for something that you can't fix. You 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:05.799 might feel like the blind man walking in darkness 00:28:05.799 --> 00:28:11.980 just hoping for mercy to walk near you. Or maybe 00:28:11.980 --> 00:28:16.900 like the mute man trapped, voiceless, unable 00:28:16.900 --> 00:28:22.559 to express what's going on inside. I think we 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:26.950 all need to hear that Jesus is not afraid of 00:28:26.950 --> 00:28:32.970 your unclean spaces and places. Jesus is not 00:28:32.970 --> 00:28:39.690 afraid. He will step right into them. He didn't 00:28:39.690 --> 00:28:43.569 come to improve the old life, friends. He came 00:28:43.569 --> 00:28:47.130 to give you a new one. And so when the kingdom 00:28:47.130 --> 00:28:51.529 breaks in, the dead live, the blind see, and 00:28:51.529 --> 00:28:54.819 the bound are free. And the question for us is 00:28:54.819 --> 00:28:57.579 will we stay inside the old wine skin or will 00:28:57.579 --> 00:29:01.619 we let him pour something new into us today? 00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:07.880 The old life can't contain the life of the king. 00:29:09.339 --> 00:29:12.940 The old life can't contain the life of the kingdom. 00:29:14.460 --> 00:29:18.559 And thank God it doesn't have to. Jesus makes 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:19.099 us new.